The sinful maternal : motherhood in possession films / Lauren Rocha.
| Author/creator | Rocha, Lauren author. |
| Format | Electronic |
| Publication | Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2024] |
| Description | 1 online resource (vii, 182 pages) : illustrations (chiefly color). |
| Supplemental Content | JSTOR |
| Subjects |
| Series | Horror and monstrosity studies series Horror and monstrosity studies series. ^A1473619 |
| Contents | Acknowledgments -- Introduction. It comes from inside: horror, home, and possession -- Chapter 1. Possessed by pregnancy: "Rosemary's Baby" -- Chapter 2. Puberty as Hell: "The Exorcist" -- Chapter 3. The house remembers: "The Amityville Horror" -- Chapter 4. Danger all around: "Insidious" and "Insidious: Chapter 2" -- Chapter 5. Mother as exorcist: "The Conjuring" and "The Conjuring 2" -- Chapter 6. Traumatic motherhood: "The Babadook" -- Chapter 7. The Devil's promise: "The Witch" -- Chapter 8. Matrilineal legacy: "Hereditary" -- Conclusion. Motherhood revisited -- Notes -- Works cited -- Index. |
| Abstract | "Pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery are challenging experiences that impact women's physical, mental, and emotional health in ways that have been historically minimalized, dismissed, or neglected. A mother's body becomes a public body, physically and politically not her own, instead shared by her spouse, her children, and those around her. Her body, therefore, makes the perfect vessel for an invasive presence-or possession. The Sinful Maternal: Motherhood in Possession Films examines the role of mothers and motherhood in ten possession films, including Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, The Babadook, and Hereditary. Chapters discuss the work of such directors as James Wan, Jennifer Kent, Robert Eggers, and Ari Aster to address how their cinematic approaches to these films produce rich possession narratives that explore different facets of motherhood and women's agency. Working at the intersections of gender studies, architectural theory, trauma studies, and monster theory, with a particular focus on the treatment of (often unruly) female bodies, author Lauren Rocha investigates the ways in which motherhood is a fertile state for possession and how possession acts to influence, destabilize, and reshape identity and the self. Placing the films in chronological order, she closely analyzes the ways in which sociocultural influences create different roles women and mothers are expected to perform. Ultimately, Rocha demonstrates how possession offers a way to challenge performative motherhood to free the self"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Source of description | Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 02, 2024). |
| Issued in other form | Print version: Rocha, Lauren. Sinful maternal Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2024 9781496851734 |
| LCCN | 2023054138 |
| ISBN | 1496851781 electronic book |
| ISBN | 9781496851758 electronic book |
| ISBN | 1496851757 electronic book |
| ISBN | 9781496851765 electronic book |
| ISBN | 1496851765 electronic book |
| ISBN | 9781496851772 electronic book |
| ISBN | 1496851773 electronic book |
| ISBN | 9781496851789 (electronic bk.) |
| ISBN | hardcover |
| ISBN | paperback |
| Stock number | 22573/cats12621997 JSTOR |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Resources | Access Content Online | ✔ Available |